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COBRA, EOB, R&C FAQs

Continuation of Coverage under COBRA

COBRA (the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986) provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates, when coverage is lost due to certain specific events.

COBRA establishes specific criteria for plans, qualified beneficiaries, and qualifying events. Generally, an employee, or the employee's spouse, or dependent children who are covered by an NYU group health plan and lose coverage due to a "qualifying event" are eligible to continue coverage under COBRA.

In certain cases, a retired employee, the retired employee's spouse, and the retired employee's dependent children may be eligible for COBRA.

Shortly after you become covered under a medical plan, you will receive a General Notice of COBRA Coverage Rights. Upon termination of employment for any reason other than your gross misconduct, you will receive a COBRA Notification/Election Form. You must respond to this notice and elect COBRA coverage on or before the 60th day after the written notice is sent, or the day health care coverage ceased, whichever is later. Otherwise, you will lose all rights to COBRA benefits. If your covered dependent loses coverage due to a Qualifying Event, you must contact the Benefits Office to request a COBRA Notification/Election Form within 60 days of the event or your dependent loses all rights to COBRA benefits.

You will generally be eligible for coverage for a maximum of 18 months if the qualifying event is due to employment termination or reduction of hours of work. Certain qualifying events, such as loss of coverage due to a divorce, or a second qualifying event during the initial period of coverage, may allow you to receive a maximum of 36 months of coverage.

If you waive COBRA coverage, you may revoke the waiver if you do so before the end of the election period. After the 60-day election period, your eligibility to elect to continue coverage under COBRA will end.

When you were an active employee, your employer may have paid all or part of your group health premiums. Under COBRA, as a former employee no longer receiving benefits, you will usually pay the entire premium amount, that is, the portion of the premium that you paid as an active employee and the amount of the contribution made by your employer. In addition, there may be a 2 percent administrative fee.

As a Plan participant under COBRA, you will remain subject to the rules of the plan, including copayments and deductibles, and are subject to all Plan limits and maximums.

Explanation of Reasonable & Customary (R&C)

Reasonable & Customary (R&C) charges are the normal range of fees for services charged by health care providers in your given geographic area (based on the zip code where the provider has their practice.) The NYU Point-of-Service Plans use a national database of health care provider charges to determine the Plans' R&C allowances.

An average price for R&C charges is determined for a particular zip code, any charges above that average are considered above R&C.

If you are enrolled in one of the NYU Point-of-Service Plans, and you go out of network, any amounts your provider charges, which are above Reasonable & Customary or contracted rates, are your responsibility and are not credited to your annual deductible.

The Aetna and Oxford HMO Plans cover in-network services only.

How to Read Your Explanation of Benefits (EOB)

Your EOB is an important record of the services you received. It shows the date(s) you received the service, the amount that was billed by your provider, the amount that was paid, what copayments were applied to the bill, how much was credited to your annual deductible (if applicable), and the portion of the charges that were not paid.

Reasonable & Customary (R&C) charges are the normal range of fees for services charged by health care providers in your given geographic area. Expenses in excess of the R&C are not reimbursed by the Plan. (See also, "Explanation of Reasonable & Customary Charges".)

At times, a claim might be "pended" for additional information, either from you or from the provider of services. If any of your claims are pended, you need to be sure to take any additional steps required to properly resolve your claim.

Yes, this is a new version of an EOB that UHC provides its members. In addition to the standard information listed above, the UHC Health Statement also provides personal information , from saving money on your course of treatment to reminders about immunizations and tests needed by you or your dependents.

Each time you receive an EOB, you should review it closely and compare it to the receipt(s) or statement(s) that you received from your providers. You may receive more than one EOB if more than one physician or service provider was involved in your treatment. For example, if an x-ray was taken when you visited your doctor, both your doctor and the laboratory may bill your insurance company separately depending on how your health plan covers lab and X-ray procedures.

Yes. It is a good idea to save your EOBs for at least a year in case questions come up about a particular claim. In addition, if you participate in a Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA) you may need your EOB to substantiate an expense you have submitted for reimbursement under the FSA plan.